Installation/Uninstallation Issues

[Brian]

A few users have reported some similar issues they are having installing or uninstalling Rainmeter. Since there has only been a few reports of these issues over the years, it has been a real struggle for the development team to track down since none of us can replicate the issue.

Issue #1:
During the Rainmeter installation process, the installer reports a large size of the files being installed, and a large amount of files and folders.

Forum.Installer.Error.1.png

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Rainmeter/comments/7rwhdb/im_attempting_to_download_rainmeter_im_currently/


Issue #2:
Rainmeter reports the wrong size in one or both of the following locations: "Settings > Apps & features" or "Control Panel > Programs and Features"

Forum.Installer.Error.2.png

Source: https://forum.rainmeter.net/viewtopic.php?f=103&t=34587#p171279
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It is not clear if these issues are related or not. The problem could be with the installer software we use (NSIS), a problem with the Rainmeter specific installation script, or it could be a Windows issue. Or it could be a virus/malware issue.

Currently, the size our installer exe file is 2.37 MB (version 4.4.0.3338). The installer includes both the 32-bit and 64-bit installations. Once installed, the Rainmeter program files (in "C:\Program Files") will be less than 6.5 MB (on a 64-bit system). This size can vary slightly with 32-bit systems and/or Windows 7/8/8.1/10.

Our installers in the past have varied in size from less than 1 MB to just over 10MB. Since early 2011, after combining the 32-bit and 64-bit installations in one file, the size of the installer has never been above 3.3 MB.

Despite what is being shown in both of the pictures above, it is virtually impossible for these sizes to be correct.
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If you having one (or both) of these issues, please post answers to the following questions to help us narrow down the issue:

1. Are you experiencing issue #1 or #2 (or both) from above?
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2. Did you do a standard or portable installation?
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3. If you can open Rainmeter, please open the About dialog, click on the Version tab, and click the "Copy to clipboard" button. Please copy this to your post. Note: You can edit out your username if you would like.
   https://docs.rainmeter.net/manual/user-interface/about/#VersionTab
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4. If you cannot open Rainmeter, please copy the complete path to where you installed Rainmeter?
   Examples:
   C:\Program Files\Rainmeter\
   C:\Rainmeter\
   D:\
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5. Is there any other files (other than Rainmeter) in the same installation folder you installed Rainmeter in?
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6. Is the installation size approximately the same size of used space on the hard drive?
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7. What is the size and used space of the hard drive you installed Rainmeter on?
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8. Is there any 3rd party antivirus software installed (other than Windows Security/Defender) ?
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9. Is there any Ransomware Protection activated (like Windows Security Ransomeware Protection) ?
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10. Have you modified your OS in anyway that might be relevant to this issue? Things like changing the default location of program installations, using sym links, altering any visual components of the OS, etc.

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If you are experiencing one of these issues, do the following:

1. Perform an uninstall of Rainmeter. You do not need to uninstall any skins. If you cannot run the uninstaller, follow the instructions on this page: https://docs.rainmeter.net/tips/clean-rainmeter-uninstall/
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2. Re-download the latest release version of Rainmeter. You may want to save the installer in a different location than the previous downloaded version that did not work.
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3. Run the installer. Select the "Standard installation". This will install Rainmeter to the C:\Program Files\Rainmeter\ folder.
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4. Verify the "size" of all the contents in the C:\Program Files\Rainmeter\ folder (you can right-click on the Rainmeter folder using Windows Explorer and select "Properties"). It should be less than 6.5 MB.
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5. Please report back to us if you are still experiencing the issue after completing these steps.

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Thanks,
-Brian

Reported issues:

https://forum.rainmeter.net/viewtopic.php?f=103&t=34587#p171250
https://forum.rainmeter.net/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=34582#p171198
https://forum.rainmeter.net/viewtopic.php?f=103&t=28647#p149388
https://forum.rainmeter.net/viewtopic.php?f=103&t=27895#p144872
https://www.reddit.com/r/Rainmeter/comments/7rwhdb/im_attempting_to_download_rainmeter_im_currently/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Rainmeter/comments/970xx3/rainmeter_large_install/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Rainmeter/comments/7dkzuo/41_taking_forever_to_install/

[zeol]

1: Both
2: Standard
3: Manually deleted all the files in a thread I found on here that was supposed to help my issue.
4: ^
5: There was not.
6: Roughly
7: 1tb size and 315g used
8: Not at the time of the install
9: No
10: Nope

[eclectic-tech]

1: Both
2: Standard
3: Manually deleted all the files in a thread I found on here that was supposed to help my issue.
4: ^
5: There was not.
6: Roughly
7: 1tb size and 315g used
8: Not at the time of the install
9: No
10: Nope

Brian may respond, but in the meantime, have you done the second portion: 1.2.3.4.5. ?

When that is done, please post the requested version tab details; step 3 if you can open Rainmeter, or step 4 if it failed.
And report back with details on the installation success or failure.

[Jeff]

Whenever Rainmeter reports the space left on the hard drive on the window from Issue #2, you can't uninstall it (it will just error out). The hacky way is deleting the folder, but then you'll remain with the listing in the Add/Remove program window.
To combat it, you just delete the Rainmeter listing from the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall registry
Think it could be useful to add to the Uninstall guide.
Also I still don't get why you guys don't do C:\Rainmeter\Rainmeter, the first Rainmeter can always be interpreted as the company name and second one is the program

[jsmorley]

Whenever Rainmeter reports the space left on the hard drive on the window from Issue #2, you can't uninstall it (it will just error out). The hacky way is deleting the folder, but then you'll remain with the listing in the Add/Remove program window.
To combat it, you just delete the Rainmeter listing from the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall registry
Think it could be useful to add to the Uninstall guide.
Also I still don't get why you guys don't do C:\Rainmeter\Rainmeter, the first Rainmeter can always be interpreted as the company name and second one is the program

I'm not particularly comfortable with recommending to all users, of all levels of experience, that they should go in and hack their Windows Registry. Sure, you can remove that entire key from the hive, but that won't actually solve anything, and having it remain there isn't a big deal. Trust me, if you have had your system running for more than a week, you already have boatloads of crap in the Registry that does nothing, will remain there forever, and won't hurt anything at all.

[zeol]

I was away for most of yesterday, but good news!

Tried to redownload rainmeter just now and it no longer shows 326gs

https://prnt.sc/qy11v2

Also was able to completely uninstall so no more nsis error.

[balala]

I was away for most of yesterday, but good news!

Tried to redownload rainmeter just now and it no longer shows 326gs

https://prnt.sc/qy11v2

Also was able to completely uninstall so no more nsis error.

These are indeed good news.

[Lssg97]

A few users have reported some similar issues they are having installing or uninstalling Rainmeter. Since there has only been a few reports of these issues over the years, it has been a real struggle for the development team to track down since none of us can replicate the issue.

Hi Brian,

I just noticed this post today! Actually, I have found the cause of this problem a few days ago!

Users with this symptom generally did one thing: they modified the default installation directory of Rainmeter, but did not create its own folder for Rainmeter. It seems that Rainmeter's installer will count the directory structure of the installation location and write the total size into the registry. This leads to the problem of abnormal software size and inability to uninstall.

Your development team can try this: install Rainmeter to a folder that already has a large number of files (such as the root directory of a disk partition) and see if this problem can be reproduced (be careful can not uninstall it).

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[SilverAzide]